Wednesday 5 Minute Rock Break: 11/9/11

Guns N' Roses (sometimes abbreviated as G N' R or GnR) is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album. The classic original lineup, as signed to Geffen records, consisted of lead vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. Co-founder Axl Rose is the only current original member of Guns N' Roses.

The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide,[8] including shipments of 45 million in the United States.[9] The band's 1987 major label debut album, Appetite for Destruction, has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and is also the highest selling debut album of all time in the US. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Sweet Child o' Mine" which reached No. 1.[10]Appetite was followed by the eight-song album G N' R Lies in 1988. The 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted on the two highest spots on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 14 million copies in the United States alone and 35 million worldwide. An album of covers titled "The Spaghetti Incident?" was the last album that featured Slash, McKagan, and Sorum. After over a decade of work and many lineup changes, the band released their follow-up album, Chinese Democracy, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in the United States.